Why are they good:1. Good writing, in that there is a solid base story, witty dialogue, and multi-level humor without being cheap (See: Shrek fart jokes)2. Excellent voice acting, and not because they're doing silly voices, but also because the actors are playing roles not themselves. (See: Bee Movie for Jerry Seinfeld and Patrick Warburton playing basically their Seinfeld characters)3. Starting with a good movie before making it a kids' movie/product tie-in. This was Cars 2's major downfall: they focused on the most marketable toy and added a bunch of other products to hawk in the movie.4. Stunning visuals and attention to detail, which gives parents subjected to endless re-watches more to appreciate.

And that's why, as a parent I don't mind re-watching any Toy Story or How to Train Your Dragon (not Pixar) or Tangled (not Pixar) but other movies just grind my freaking gears and are removed from the rotation.

Also I see that the Pixar backlash has begun. God you all sound like a bunch of hipsters. "I haven't really been into Pixar since The Incredibles, no I'm watching animation by a small studio in Uzbekistan. You've probably never heard of it"

I thought Brave was all right, but my wife absolutely loved it. I have to give them credit, it's the kind of film that I've never seen before, focusing so much on the Mother/Daughter bond. It was a bold move, and white it didn't resonate with me, props to them for taking a chance. And not just remaking Mulan.

Of course, the animated film that got me this year was Wreck It Ralph. Saw that movie twice and both times it got me in a way that Pixar really hasn't the past few years. When a movie makes me laugh out loud and tear up in the same minute, it's a great film. (Even the short at the beginning, with the paper airplanes, was utterly fantastic and right up there with any Pixar short.) I really want to see Wreck It Ralph win best animated film next year at the Oscars.

I am a bit nervous about the Monsters Inc. Prequel. It's going to be cute and funny, but can they really top the emotional climax of the first one? Will they be able to match the absolute emotional awesome that is the final moment when Sully peeks his head in the door? It still gets me every time.

freetomato:As an aside, I don't understand why anyone would waste time in a thread about a topic in which they have zero interest. I'm not a sports fan, but I don't feel the need to go into sports threads to proudly proclaim my disinterest or to insult those who are into them.

RidgeRunner5:He repaved the road that he tore up while running from the cops

And nothing suggests that he helped revive the town. Unless he knows how to refill neon tubes, get electricity going, etc. He only spent time with them, first to get the interest of the chick character, and then the rest after having some shallow, pasted on coming to God moment.

Yes, but his sentence was to repave the road, which he did, he redeemed himself. First, he did a shiatty, self involved job of it. Then he went back and did it properly. But the point stands that through the punishment, he became a better car.

And yes, at first his intentions were selfish, but that changes as he spent time with them. And he revived the town by moving his headquarters there, and by talking them up in his interviews. At the end of the film, the town is bustling with traffic. That doesn't happen without him.

Miss Stein:Shostie: DamnYankees: Cythraul: Brave has been released?! I was wondering what was taking them so long. Was it any good? I was hoping after what I heard about Cars 2, Brave would be awesome.

Its not. Brave is the very apex of "eh, its ok".

My wife really liked it. I haven't gotten around to seeing it.

This may be one of those situations where, if you have a penis, you won't "get it," or something.

I wasn't pleased with it either. It would have been better if the triplets had been taken away or put in grave danger, and Merida was the one who braved incredible odds and harrowing ordeals to bring them safe to the kingdom, instead of that touchy-feely mother/daughter crap they foisted on us.

I wouldn't have minded Brave so much if the moral of the story was "Both mom and daughter need to compromise a little."

Instead, we get an ending where mom let's the daughter be a tom-boy....without any scenes of the daughter also giving in a ruling like the princess her mom wants her to be.

In essence, the moral of the story is "put your parents through hell, and they'll give you what you want eventually."

enry:NuttierThanEver: Also I see that the Pixar backlash has begun. God you all sound like a bunch of hipsters. "I haven't really been into Pixar since The Incredibles, no I'm watching animation by a small studio in Uzbekistan. You've probably never heard of it"

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You mean Czechoslovakia, right?

Ye Gods those were awful cartoons. The sounds were otherworldly bad. How do you screw up a cat chasing a mouse?

Tangled is a good illustration of why Pixar is better than Disney. I thought it was OK -- the horse was funny -- but it wasn't a great movie at all. A good example of that difference is the music. At some point there's this break-it-down hip-hop beat or something, which totally breaks the "Renaissance" period mood of the movie. You can just see the corporate types asking each other "how can we jazzify this movie, make it more fresh and funky for the kids?"